


here and now

by cloudwatch



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pre-Relationship, vague references to miqo'te warrior of light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 22:14:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19732834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudwatch/pseuds/cloudwatch
Summary: The arm around your waist tightens briefly, and you wonder if he’s about to fall back asleep. No matter what he says about not needing to sleep, he was most definitely not just resting, and you can’t lie to yourself; going back to sleep with him this close to you sounds like a wonderful idea. Having him this close is wonderful, and so you don’t argue with yourself and instead tuck your head underneath his chin, his breath causing your ears to twitch when he breathes out.You don’t mind.----the warrior of light and the exarch get some well deserved cuddles





	here and now

**Author's Note:**

> hi y'all i'm dead and dying over the crystal exarch, how are you?

When you wake, the sky is still dark. 

  


It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the gentle light of the lantern hanging by the window, and for a moment you forget how it got there. With sleep still tugging at you, whispering about the warm bed, the soft blankets, you think back to before you fell asleep and remember books, food growing cold on the table, and more books.

  


Research, your tired brain reminds you. You were researching how to send your friends back to the Source with you. You think you must have gone through fifty books or so on your own in the past few days, and while some theories might be looked into, nothing seemed to be a good solution to the current situation.

  


You yawn again, and wonder why you woke so early. You’ve earned this rest; you’ve saved the world, again, the least you deserve is one full nights sleep, undisturbed. Shifting on the bed, you start to wake more, and that’s when you notice the heavy weight on your waist, the air hitting your neck. Frowning, you lean your head back and feel something heavy touch it, and later you’ll laugh at how long it took you to figure it out, but in the moment you’re tired and the warmth of the bed is calling to you, that weight on your waist keeping you grounded. You twist on the bed, and your forehead comes into contact with hair and you think  _ oh _ . You remember now.

  


Leaning back, you take in the person who has been sharing the bed with you, and G’raha Tia looks the most relaxed you’ve ever seen him. 

  


The warmth you feel when you spend time with him builds up, and you can’t help but smile that he’s able to relax around you like this. No doubt he’s been just as busy with research as you have, as well as his duties around the Crystarium, but he’d taken time out to visit you and knowing that makes you happy. In general, G’raha Tia makes you happy.

  


You’d been four books deep into your research for ways of bringing your family home, having locked yourself in your room for the past few days, when a knock on the door had drawn your attention. When you stood, your back ached and you probably had been sitting in the same position for too long, and so you were grateful that whoever was at the door for the opportunity to move. When you opened the door, however, you were surprised to see the Crystal Exarch standing there. You’d found it funny that he looked just as surprised to see you on the other side of the door. 

  


“Ah, forgive me, I felt the need to walk and found myself here. I hadn’t expected you to actually… ahem. I have wanted to see how you’ve been doing with your research, though, so if you don’t mind my dropping by?”

  


You could never mind, and you’d opened your door to let him in. 

  


Your conversation had, as usual, drifted from subject to subject; talking to G’raha Tia had always been easy and entertaining, whether it had been theories regarding ancient allagans back when you’d been working ever closer to the Crystal Tower, or even just daily gossip surrounding the people of the Crystarium. 

  


You don’t remember when you fell asleep, nor do you remember actually heading towards the bed, but you remember your conversation having lasted long into the night, and you remember thinking how beautiful it was to see him laugh as you told him a story about your most recent trip back to the Source. 

  


He looks just as beautiful now, you think.

  


You gently push a few strands of hair from his face, finding that you really enjoy his sleeping face, although you had thought he hadn’t needed to sleep.

  


“‘M not sleeping, I’m merely resting.”

  


_ Oh _ , you hadn’t thought you’d said that out loud.

  


“Well, you did; you’re rather loud when thinking out loud,” he says, but you can hear the fondness in his tone, and you look back at him to see his eyes open and a gentle smile on his face. 

  


“Good morning, G’raha Tia,” you say, your voice soft. 

  


He closes his eyes and inhales deeply. “I believe that you’re the only one who can make saying one’s name feel this way.” The arm around your waist tightens briefly, and you wonder if he’s about to fall back asleep. No matter what he says about not needing to sleep, he was most definitely not just  _ resting _ , and you can’t lie to yourself; going back to sleep with him this close to you sounds like a wonderful idea.  _ Having _ him this close is wonderful, and so you don’t argue with yourself and instead tuck your head underneath his chin, his breath causing your ears to twitch when he breathes out.

  


You don’t mind.

  


You get a few minutes like this, pressed close, and you feel yourself teetering over the edge to sleep when he inhales sharply and moves away. You hope your frown isn’t reflecting on your face as you sit up with him, running a hand through your hair and over your eyes, wondering why he pulled away. There’s a flush on his cheeks and he’s glancing away. You want to hug him, as you always do when he gets like this, however you feel that wouldn’t help the current situation. “My apologies,” he says with a little laugh. “I did not mean to ... ah…” His ears have drooped a bit, and you can tell he’s embarrassed, but you’re not sure why. Before he can continue speaking, though, you ask him.

  


“What for?”

  


He takes a good long look at you, and for a moment you think you’ll get your answer, but instead he gives out a soft laugh. “Again, apologies, but this time for laughing. For someone who sleeps so still you have rather ridiculous bedhead. It resembles some of the fluffiest clouds,” and to emphasize this, he takes a few strands of hair and pulls playfully. “How fearsome you look now.” You don’t even need to see it to believe that it’s bad, and so you reach up with your hands and clamp them down on your head, ignoring his “I’m afraid that won’t help”, then flop back onto the bed, rolling away from him as though it’ll prevent him from seeing you. 

  


“Why are you teasing me like this?”

  


This seems to have gotten him out of his earlier embarrassed mood, because you feel him shift closer to you and you smile. “I fear you’re due for a round of teasing, what with the amount you give me.” You remain silent, fighting the urge to stick out your tongue at him. “Not talking to me, are we?”

  


Again, you remain silent, but the smile is growing on your face and you have no doubt he can see it. When he presses closer though, you inhale as he whispers, “And what would you have me do to make up for my awful teasing of your bedhead?”

  


You bite your lip, because this part of the teasing is intimately familiar, a line that the two of you have been tip-toeing together, keeping yourselves from crossing it. You don’t know why you haven’t as of yet, but in this early morning you’re tired and don’t want to spend your time thinking of anything else but just enjoying his company. So you lower your hands, roll over on your side to face him, and look up into his eyes. “Come back to bed with me?”

  


He understands the full meaning of your request, you can tell by the look on his face. G’raha Tia was always one of your closest friends, before he sealed himself away, and had been able to read you quite well by the end of your journey together. You had known, then, that the chances of ever seeing him again would be slim, and yet here he was. Alive,  _ vibrant _ , and having gone through so much for two worlds - and  _ you _ . Sometimes the weight of that knowledge hits you and you don’t know what to do with yourself. You have loved before - oh, you’ve loved strongly and fiercely, and you know that when it comes to him you’d do anything to keep him safe, bring him happiness and joy. What he has done for you, though, you don’t believe you’ll be able to give back to him fully. 

  


So you’ll do what only you can. You’ll love him, with all that you are. 

  


He looks at you as you reach forward and take his left hand in yours, mouth  _ please _ , and wait for his answer. His right hand moves to rest upon your cheek and you close your eyes as the thumb strokes softly. Instead of words, you feel his lips press against your forehead and you lean into it eagerly, reaching up with your spare hand to hold on to his wrist. You have so many things you want to say to him, confess what you feel. He’s told you his, when he spoke of his wish to travel with you and be by your side, when he meant to sacrifice his life so you may live; each day you live is proof of just how much you mean to this wonderful man. 

  


But that will be a conversation for a later date.

  


G’raha Tia presses one more kiss between your eyes before he lays down beside you; once he’s settled you rush forward, once again placing your head underneath his chin and wrapping your arms around his body. The hand not around your waist comes up to your head and scratches gently behind your ear, and you melt into him. 

  


“Good night, G’raha Tia,” you say, and you feel a kiss being placed on your head. His breathing begins to even out, and you match it with yours. You’ll make sure to wish him a good morning first thing, and you’ll talk - you’ll tell him how you feel, what you desire. You’ll start working on doing what you can to make him feel how you do when he’s in your presence. 

  


You give your dearest friend and love one last hug, and you sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> ᶜʳᶦᵉˢᵎᵎᵎᵎᵎᵎᵎᵎ


End file.
